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Steelers vs. Titans: Mike Tomlin reacts to loss

The Pittsburgh Steelers' injury list is a long one, but Mike Tomlin knows his squad could easily have left Tennessee with a win instead of a 26-23 defeat.

Tomlin dismissed questions about whether the injuries effected his team in a single word: "no". instead, he cited his team's need to perform better on the road, as they dropped to 0-3 away from Heinz Field:

"A disappointing performance tonight, but that is obviously what we are right now. We take ownership of that. We are not doing enough to finish games in hostile environments."

Tomlin acknowledged that the team made many mistakes that led to the loss, such as allowing a blocked punt that gave the Titans a short field.

Tomlin accepted responsibility for the decision to have Shaun Suisham attempt a 54-yarder with less than a minute left rather than attempting to pick up a fourth-down conversion. The head coach said that Suisham's had "banged the other (field goal) before pretty clean," so he gave his kicker the opportunity to win the game. Suisham's kick would have given the Steelers, rather than the Titans, the 26-23 lead; instead, it gave the Titans the ball on their own 44-yard line without much time on the clock. They moved the ball rather easily to set up a 40-yarder for Rob Bironas, who nailed the kick.

Photographs by dizfunk used in background montage under Creative Commons. Thank you.